For about a year, I've been saying the fix was in for Dr. Beach's "best beach" contest for 2013. Usually the runner-up from the previous year moves into the top position. And with the gorgeous Duke Kahanamoku Beach coming in second in 2012, it seemed a lock that the sand strand in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village would be No. 1 in 2013.

Dr. Beach says he makes his picks based on more than 50 environmental and oceanographic criteria. But in all the years I've covered the contest, the greatest predictor of success was being the beach version of a bridesmaid the year before. So it was with Coronado Beach, the No. 2 in 2011 that moved into the top slot in 2012.

So it was with some certainty, at times perhaps a bit too smugly, I said the folks at Duke K. beach could begin cranking up the PR machine early.

Then the poll came out over Memorial Day weekend. Oops.

Duke Kahanamoku Beach was No. 2 – again. And the No. 3 beach – Main Beach in the Hamptons in New York – leapfrogged into the top spot.

In a rare move, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, the Florida oceanographer who goes by the nickname "Dr. Beach," had skipped over the front-runner in Hawaii to pick a beach on Long Island, an area ravaged by superstorm Sandy.

"The thing about the Hamptons is that people are so proud of their beaches out there," Leatherman told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the release of his list. "People pick up their litter there, the bathrooms are clean; they provide good services."

Leatherman said he last visited Main Beach in early May. He said that unlike many beaches farther west on Long Island and in New Jersey, the beaches on eastern Long Island saw less erosion and flooding from the effects of Superstorm Sandy.

"Considering the magnitude of the storm, people will be very pleased to see that Main Beach is the way they remember it," he said.

I used to live in New York City and eastern Pennsylvania, so I've been to the Hamptons a few times, though not to Main Beach. The picture sent by the public relations folks looks like a Hallmark card. Cute, little, wooden fence running down to a beach with tufts of grass on margins.

People from California and other areas in the western coastal U.S. don't realize how lucky we have it when it comes to beach access. The new "best beach" is essentially private. Local residents can get on it for free. Anybody who doesn't live there has to pay $25 per day for parking – and only 40 nonlocal cars can be issued a permit.

There's talk in the Hamptons of making the restrictions even tighter. Residents there are less than thrilled with the attention their beaches are getting in the run-up to summer. The Sunday after Dr. Beach's announcement, The New York Times ran a front-page story that residents of the Hamptons are worried about an influx of people from New York City and New Jersey coming to their beaches because those closer to the cities were so heavily damaged by Sandy.

As always, I'll raise a red flag. Main Beach isn't the best beach in the country. It's not likely in the Top 20, even according to Leatherman.

This is the 23rd year for the survey. Leatherman uses criteria such as water and sand quality, as well as safety and environmental management, to compile his annual list. While the contest is heavily covered by news media as a kind of summer tourism beauty contest, Leatherman says its main function is to call attention to the impact of development and pollution on beaches.

The idea wouldn't work if the same beach won year after year. So win once, you are off the list. That means nearly two dozen beaches can't win.

Coronado Beach was the only California beach that made the top spot. In an interview in the Register several years ago, Leatherman said beaches in places like Santa Barbara, Ventura, Malibu, Orange County and San Diego County usually don't make the list because the water is too cold and pollution too high. It took more than 20 years for the home of the Beach Boys to get a beach on the list. Leatherman's criteria have resulted in the crown going to a lot of beaches in Hawaii and his local turf, Florida.

It's his contest, so we'll give Dr. Beach the benefit of the doubt this year. But then it's Duke Kahanamoku Beach's turn. And we'd love it if the following year Hamoa Beach, on Maui near Hana, jumped past St. George Island State Park in Florida. That's the kind of surprise result I can get behind.

The selection of Main Beach in the Hamptons as the top strand in the U.S. has problems. The beach is almost private, with only area residents allowed unrestricted access.
A couple prepare to snorkel in the waters off Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Oahu. The beach was No. 2 in 2012 and came up second again in 2013. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coronado Beach near San Diego was the top beach of 2012 according to Dr. Stephen Leatherman's annual "Best Beach" list. It took more than 20 years for a California beach to reach the top ranking. H. LORREN AU JR., THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Main Beach in the Hamptons of New York is a classic East Coast strand with a weathered path leading to dunes with tuffs of grass before giving way to beach. File photo
A late afternoon on a busy Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Oahu. Though on the edge of Waikiki, it draws from area resorts and residents of Honolulu. MICHAEL GOULDING, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Hamoa Beach on the Hana side of Maui is one of the up and coming candidates for future "best beach" consideration in the annual ratings by a Florida researcher. File photo

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